We will make 2026 a year when small merchants and small and midsize corporations can move beyond recovery to "growth" based on data and AI innovation. We will also lead the opening of the era of 40 trillion won in venture investment.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said this at a briefing on the 2026 work report held at the Government Sejong Convention Center in Sejong on the 17th. Under the vision of "restoring the growth ladder for SMEs, ventures, and small merchants," Minister Han presented four key tasks: ▲ vibrant small merchants ▲ activation of startups and ventures ▲ innovation for manufacturing SMEs ▲ a win-win growth ecosystem.
◇ "Data-based growth for small merchants, leading the era of 40 trillion won in venture investment"
First, it will identify 10,000 "local founders" led by youth related to small merchants and foster 1,000 of them into "local entrepreneurs," such as local creators. Through "local startup towns," it will support exchange and collaboration and expand the share of regional support for local startups to as much as 90%. The "Korea Grand Festival," held this year across ministries, will be advanced next year as a "glocal" event that brings together regions, large corporations, and foreigners. It will also foster global commercial districts and markets that attract both domestic and international visitors by linking with K-pop and regional tourism.
It will also establish a tailored digital support strategy that fits the sector and capability levels of small merchants. In collaboration with private platforms such as Musinsa and Kakao, it will support the online growth of 3,500 promising-brand small merchants. It will constantly monitor signs of crisis among 3 million small merchants with loans, and for those where a crisis is detected, it will use AI to provide management analysis and tailored policies.
It will actively work to invigorate startups and ventures. Through the audition-style "Everyone's Startup Project," it will select 100 startup rookies a year and provide linked support for founding and investment. It will fully operate the "Retry Support Headquarters" to significantly strengthen guarantees, loans, and funds for restart startups, and it plans to define the support targets more broadly than now.
It will create five regional hub startup cities next year and 10 by 2030, and provide intensive support—from infrastructure, talent, commercialization, and networking—through cross-ministerial cooperation. By 2030, it will create a total of 3.5 trillion won in regional growth funds.
Minister Han also emphasized that she would lead the opening of the era of 40 trillion won in venture investment driven by venture investors. It will reform systems and taxes so that diverse investment entities—such as pension funds, retirement pensions, the financial sector, and institutional investors—can flow into the venture investment market, strengthening the private-sector incentive structure for venture investment.
It will supply 1.6 trillion won in government fund-of-funds to the venture investment market as priming water, a 58% increase from the previous year. It will create a national account that allows pension funds and retirement pensions to invest in the fund-of-funds, and the fund-of-funds will bear losses first to support expanded private participation in venture investment. It will also set in motion the "next-generation unicorn discovery and fostering project" to support the growth of AI and deep tech startups.
◇ "Support for SME AX, building a fair ecosystem for corporate growth"
It will support innovation for manufacturing SMEs through initiatives such as the AI transition (AX) for SMEs. It will build 12,000 smart factories for small and midsize manufacturers by 2030. Next year, it plans to establish 430 advanced AI smart factories, 585 smart factories in sectors where SMEs are strong such as K-beauty, and 270 win-win smart factories between large corporations such as Samsung and SMEs. It also plans to promote a regional SME AI transition project together with seven local governments. It will expand the jump-up program to help SMEs grow into mid-sized corporations.
It will focus R&D budgets on "profitable R&D." It plans to expand the TIPS (TIPS) program, in which the government provides linked support to innovative startups that have received VC investment, to 1,200 companies a year. It will also introduce a Korea-style Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR). The newly established "public-private joint technology commercialization" R&D will require technology and market validation at the planning stage, and it plans to provide up to 150 million won in a "technology commercialization package" to 160 corporations with outstanding R&D outcomes.
It will also work to expand exports in consumer goods fields where SMEs are strong, such as K-beauty. In particular, it will identify 180 strategic consumer-goods export items next year and 500 by 2030, prioritize them for export support programs, and support their placement and marketing.
Lastly, it will actively work to create a win-win ecosystem in which corporations can achieve fair outcomes. It will introduce a "Korea-style discovery procedure" and establish it on the ground, and it will introduce strong sanctions such as administrative penalties, penalty surcharges, and expanded damages against corporations that steal technology. In addition, it will restrict public procurement bidding by corporations engaged in technology theft and unfair transactions and exclude them from policy support targets such as finance and R&D. It will also establish a fund for relief from unfair-transaction damages. Using as financial resources the penalty surcharges collected by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), it will support litigation costs and management-stabilization funds for victimized SMEs together with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC).
Minister Han said, "If this year achieved results in overcoming the crisis and recovery for SMEs and small merchants, from next year it is time to move toward growth," adding, "the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will do its best to restore the growth ladder for SMEs, ventures, and small merchants."